


Those Without Flight

by DenebYL



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Ficlet, Gen, I had to literally browse tags because I didn't know what to tag it as, One Shot, Platonic or romantic you decide, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 06:02:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14013765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DenebYL/pseuds/DenebYL
Summary: Ashe despairs under the shade, thinking it the perfect protection from prying eyes.But Penelo can see Ashe's determination waver, and her heart lost - so she guides her back.4/4 Edit - More stuff and formatting, also changed summary.





	Those Without Flight

**Author's Note:**

> WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 12 YEARS OF FFXII OY end me I don't know why I wrote this at 1 am  
>  
> 
> This isn't necessarily Penelo/Ashe? I just felt that these two characters were more fitting for what I wanted to do, is all.
> 
> Also this literally isn't meant to go anywhere I just wanted to indulge myself with this style of descriptives.

__

_  
“Sons and Daughters of Dalmasca. I bid you lay down your Arms. Raise Songs of Prayer in their Stead. Prayer for His Majesty, King Raminas, ever merciful. A Man devoted wholly to peace.”_

_“Prayer, too, for the noble Princess Ashe, who, wrought with Grief at her Kingdom’s Defeat, has taken her own Life.”  
_

-

The grand skies of Phon Coast stretched for miles and miles beyond, cyan blue reaching out to the depths of the horizon far beyond the sights can see as the warm shades of the sunset hold on to the hope gleamed upon by the afternoon streaks of white.

She stands still under the shade of a palm tree as the warm sea breeze embraces her, the now fallen princess, as if an attempt to reassure her that nature lies on her side as always.

And yet as warm as it was, as beautiful as it was, an old friend of Ashe’s crept into her heart still. 

 

Despair.

It tugs upon Ashe’s heart like gravity would to a kite, silently.  
Though it ceases to end, as a kite would once it hits the ground.

No.  
Not a kite.

It keeps on going, a steady stream comparable to that of a river, until it eventually reaches the edge towards the sea, finding borders no more as it finds its shape as one with the waters of the world.

Yet instead of calmness and tranquillity, or a place for it all to end up and rest, Ashe finds that it overflows.

For it drowns all that it sees, and it knows not of control. It is beguiling, in the way that there seems to be an end, the assumption that we all hold when we cannot see what lies beyond - and yet it is nowhere to be found.

What she had very little faith in, now no longer. So she is lost, and she knows not whether to keep on going.

 

A soft sigh leaves her lips, the dense smell of salt wafting in the air protruding upon her nostrils. She closes her eyes, trying to think back to a time when thoughts of the future weren’t manifestations of her anxieties and fear, the kind of chaos that she thought would only emerge in her nightmares.

“Are you okay?”

A voice rings out; as clear as it is affectionate. Ashe opens her eyes and turns to find Penelo, then her gaze fell back to the sands of the Coast as she shook her head.

“I am fine.”

To no one’s surprise, she lied to maintain her façade.

For she is a princess seeking vengeance for her beloved and for her people, ultimately to reclaim the throne that was wrongfully taken from her…  
That princess is strong. She is unrelenting, unforgiving, and merciless. She is like the scorching sun above the desert, and she is like the ocean’s wave upon the corals by the shore.

If she were to admit that despair laughs inside her mind, that despair lurks within her heart, what does that make her?

 What she does not know is that Penelo can see the unrest in her eyes, shades of doubt clouds the grey orbs previously full of determination.

So she speaks.

“You know, I could never figure out what kind of person you were from all those public appearances.” Penelo said, her foot grazing past the sand that had intermingled with the incandescent light, her sun-kissed skin basking in the light that is nearly exhausted. From where Ashe sees her, she is but once again beloved by the skies - as always. 

“I thought… would she be really cool and quiet? I also thought that it would be funny if you were actually like Vaan underneath public appearances.”

She laughed a bit, and bit her lip, now nervous at the silence that had emerged. She heard not even the whispers of the waves, not even the songs of the birds, for anxiety had her full attention.

“I mean, I don't mean to be rude... Sorry. I… just wanted to lighten the mood.” She sputtered.

“No, you are fine. It is... I who must apologise.” Ashe shook her head.

“Oh, uh… Okay.” Penelo nodded, but her eyes lingered upon the form under the shadow, further words refusing to come out.

So instead, Penelo looks forward. Towards where the sky meets the ocean.

Where the navy blue of the sea embraces the fading light of the sun, the red and orange spreading its wings out wide reaching far where those without flight would only ever dream of.  
Where the clouds and ripples engage in an enticing _pas du deux_ to their own respective tunes, though they will remain as far away from each other as they are close, just like a pair of star-crossed lovers.

 

She smiles, and she lets her feet take her close to the edge where the waves quietly brush against the sand, and is forced to leave behind naught but foam, as if a lover unwilling to leave a warm embrace, forgetting trinkets of their own simply for a reason to come back.

Penelo squats by the edge, and puts her arms on her knees.

“But... You know, I’m glad that we got to meet and we’re here now. I didn’t think in a million years I would even set out on a journey like this… A journey to reclaim Dalmasca, out of all other kinds of journeys. It’s amazing, really.”

She let out a laugh, and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath.

"Honestly. I'm kind of glad that Vaan doesn't listen to me. At all. If he really didn't try to sneak in the palace... I wonder. Would I be here, or would I just be yelling at Vaan as usual? ...Not that I stopped yelling at Vaan at all."

Ashe heard every word and felt her lips curve into a small smile. She oddly felt at ease as a bravery inside her welled up and encouraged her to ask.

 

“Forgive me if this is out of line, but…” Penelo opened her eyes, and she looked towards the princess. “I want to know what Dalmasca means to you.”

Penelo tilted her head, and hummed.

“Dalmasca..." Her voice was soft, but there was strength there. "Well, I think I would say it means home.” There was strength that Ashe remembered having. Strength that Ashe remembered holding on to as she grew up and understood her roles and responsibilities to her kingdom, Strength that Ashe remembered wielding as she trained in swordsmanship, refusing to be helpless as she understands that what the horizon holds is war, Strength that Ashe remembered grasping on to as news came of Rasler and his father's death. When exactly it started to wane, Ashe knew not. 

Penelo diverted her gaze once again back towards the setting sun, and her voice caught Ashe's attention again.

"Well, it has always been home to me. Home to many others, too. Especially in Rabanastre. It never mattered whether you were born in the Royal City, or whether you ventured through the Estersand or the Westersand to make it here… Or even if you ventured all the way through the Jagd or the Jungles.”

Penelo's gaze then softened as she let the waters embrace her fingers.

“If you feel at home, then it’s home.”

Then, she sighed.

“But, it sure didn’t feel that way, what with the war… Anyway, we'll end it, right? So I do hope that we make it through this. I want to go back home. Back home to the Dalmasca that I had once known and loved.”

Penelo stood up, and turned around to face Ashe once again. She tilted her head to the side a little, smile evident on her lips and her eyes were full of hope.

And for a brief moment, Ashe could feel calm.

And Ashe thinks that, maybe it doesn't have to be about revenge. Maybe it can be about the return of a home. If not for her, then for those like Penelo.

“Thank you, Penelo.”

 

Penelo giggled, and nodded. 

“Well, should we go back to the Hunters’ Camp?”

She walked towards Ashe, and stopped just right outside of the shade. She reached a hand out towards Ashe, lips still curved into a smile with eyes reflecting affection and strength.

Ashe nods, and takes her hand - from the shade, she steps out into the light. Though the sunlight was weak, they both know that the lights in their hearts have been reignited once again, if not stronger.

__

_“I am simply myself. No more and no less. And I want only to be free.”_

**Author's Note:**

> yell at me about FFXII
> 
> I actually have more beyond "Ashe nods and takes her hand" but hmmmmmmm
> 
> Also FFXII's story is a tragedy fight me


End file.
